Monday, March 30, 2009

Constable Ban Ki-Moon would be a nice idea...

The Arab League has gathered in Doha, Qatar for its regular meeting, a festival of member spats and condemnations of Israel for all crimes, real and imagined. One of its attendees is a human-shaped rat named Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president who is a prime architect of the Darfur genocide. There is an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in place due to his crimes against humanity, but sadly summit host Qatar is not a signatory to the ICC.

Also in attendance at the meetings is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. While I am aware of all sorts of issues surrounding safe diplomacy and the role of the UN Secretary-General, I really can't escape the fantasy of Ban drugging Bashir and smuggling aboard a plane into a justice-friendly country. It may be a confirmation of conservatives' black helicopter fantasies, but I think it's worth it.

Failing that, I wouldn't mind it if Bashir's pilot deviated a little from its return the pilot flight plan and faked an emergency that would necessitate landing in a suitable country somewhat en route, such as Jordan or Chad.

Of course, given how insane he's already been at the summit, there's a chance that Libryan leader Muammar Qadafi will stab him with a pen and eat his kidneys raw.

(Boston, MA) On April 11, 2009 at 2pm ET/11am PT, there will be protests in cities across the country. The actions are a direct response to what many believe are flawed economic policies enacted by Congress and the Obama administration. Boston will host its own protest in the area of Boston Common that faces the State House.

With growing frustration over unemployment, foreclosures and how the government has responded to the economic crisis so far, a web organizing platform, http://anewwayforward.org, has emerged to allow people and groups to organize around a progressive approach to economic recovery.

With protests taking place in over a dozen major U.S. cities, the April 11 action promises to be big.

"I think that a lot of people out there feel that congress has been making economic policy that is totally crazy. And the fact that huge sums of government cash have taken the form of executive bonuses is just unacceptable. These protests are being held to give all the people that have similar feelings and opinions a loud, unified voice. One that Congress and the Obama administration will, hopefully, pay attention to," said Matt Zaccarino state coordinator of A NEW WAY FORWARD, MA.

Tiffiniy Cheng, one of the founders of A NEW WAY FORWARD, welcomed the Massachusetts contingent to the effort. "Through campaign money and lobbyists, the financial industry has been pushing politicians to protect their interests in these hard economic times. Massachusetts has a key role to play in demanding change to how economic plans are decided.”

A NEW WAY FORWARD is an all-volunteer grassroots organization supporting a platform of bank nationalization and restructuring that excludes bonuses for top level executives.

Daily Quote for Freethinkers

Kind of a mix of stuff. Thoughts on politics in Massachusetts, the US, and the world. Thoughts on being an atheist in a country that somehow bridges 21st century technology and 19th century-style theocracy. Food...mmm, food. Oh, and I teach, so fun stuff about education.

Quriltai: A meeting of Mongol chieftains, usually to choose a new leader, similar to the Afghan Loya Jirga. The greatest "near miss" of European history was the calling of a quriltai in 1242 after the death of Ogodei Khan (son of Genghis). The greatest Mongol general, Sabutai and his "hordes" turned away from the gates of Vienna and the vulnerable riches of Europe to elect Ogodei's successor. After the quriltai elected Guyuk Khan, the armies never returned to Europe in strength.